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Mrs. Norma Livne, who is our long time peer, student, friend, and one of the managers of the Spanish Department at Bnei Baruch as well as our representative in Latin America, has received the prize and the certificate of “Lion of Judah” for her contribution as a public activist in Mexico. This is the first time in history that an ambassador’s wife has been awarded the prize.

We wish our friend Norma continued success in her political and public work!

There are two forces influencing us. One is our ego, which constantly grows, separating us from one another and making us hate each other. But on the other hand, there is an external force that causes us to be interconnected and interdependent.

Even though I never chose to be globally connected with the entire world and I do not want this connection, the Creator still arranges it that way. So on one hand, there is a negative force operating in me, which is directed against everyone else, but on the other hand, all the other people surround me so closely that I have nowhere to hide.

These two forces intentionally pressure me and I don’t have any way out of the situation. Anyone in the world would gladly break all the ties between all the nations and civilizations. But we are yet to discover that we depend on some of the tiniest nations, which seems not to matter. The entire world cannot manage to deal with some pirates in Somalia as well as many other, similar terrorist groups. Why can’t we just destroy them? It’s because the Upper Force will not let us. We all depend on one another and there is nowhere to hide.

There are one hundred and eighty countries in the world, and we are yet to see the kind of problems that will arise once our dependence on one another is revealed. Imagine what happens when your leg is injured; it seems like no big deal, but your head stops working, your attention is gone, and the light pain does not let you function properly.

The reason we are unable to manage a single terrorist country is because we are not unified. If the entire world were to act together, to close their bank accounts and stop buying oil from those groups, that would spell their end. What would these terrorist countries be able to do? They would have nothing. The world could close all the frontiers around them, leaving them no entrances and no exits. We should do like our organism does when a foreign body penetrates it, such as a splinter; the organism immediately isolates it inside a capsule and starts expelling it until the infected place bursts and the foreign body comes out together with all the pus.

However, we do not do the same to the terrorists because there is no world consent. We have to learn from nature what we need to do with them. There is no need to destroy them. We just need to come to a common agreement that we are not to communicate in any way with this part of the common organism. This will make them change very quickly because social influence is the strongest influence there is.

A question I received: Do we attract evil forces upon ourselves if we read about them in The Zohar?

My Answer: When a person reads about all the wicked people or forces described in the Torah, such as Haman and Amalek, he should understand that all of them are within him. When he corrects these qualities within himself, he also corrects their manifestations that seem to exist in the outside world.

Then, he won’t experience any problems, but on the contrary, he will attract the Light instead of having to be awakened by suffering. If a person aspires to correct himself by making efforts in uniting and studying, then he awakens the evil within him and corrects it, similar to how one catches a snake that has crawled out of hiding.

Our work is to remain in the right line and be ready for the awakening of the left line as much as possible in order to ascend by using it. If we don’t reveal the left line – the snake that has many names and shapes, then we won’t be able to advance.

You should cling to the right line with all your strength because then, regardless of how much the left line is revealed, it will be for your benefit. And the most important thing is not to be afraid of anything. You are treading a very narrow bridge — the revelation of the Light of Hassadim in the Light of Hochma. The bridge from Malchut to Bina is a very narrow line.

If we don’t correct something inside of us in time, then this “tail” keeps dragging behind us and greatly complicates our lives, like a heavy burden we are carrying. For example, what did a newborn baby do to suddenly receive so many problems and suffering in this world? The matter is that the baby is born into this world with all the “baggage” of the past, all the things he went through and did not correct in the previous lives. All of this becomes revealed to us because we will have to correct it at some point or other. It’s impossible to “skip” anything.

For example, suppose I was a bad student in first grade and I am now starting second grade even though I don’t understand half of the things being taught there because I missed that material in first grade. The teacher tells me, “You have to make up for everything you missed before. Go and fix it quickly now. You have to, since otherwise, you won’t be ready for second grade.” But how can you even tell what you missed in the previous grade?

This is now being revealed to you. But how can you tell what happened to you in the previous lives if you can’t even tell whether the things that happened to you yesterday were good or bad for you? You can’t even judge the present moment correctly. Yet, if you are not attentive enough to the present moment and are unable to discern and correct your attitude to see that “There is None Else Besides Him” and “He is good and does good,” meaning that you are unable to stay in the middle line, which is the line by which one ascends, then you will have to correct this later on.

Don’t think that you will be “pardoned” from Above for everything you didn’t do. You won’t be able to ascend that way since all the levels are connected by a chain of cause and effect. So how can you predict the levels that lie ahead if you didn’t understand what happened on the previous levels?

In our world we simply don’t feel how absolutely interconnected and predetermined the system is. But in the spiritual world there can be no doubt about this because the system was created by the Light that entered the will to enjoy and expanded it, building an entire universe out of one point.

We have to keep in mind that we are all in one “boat” and part of one common soul. Everyone has to understand that the gathering that will take place at the forthcoming The Zohar Convention 2010 , like all gatherings of a large number of people who aspire to spirituality, is a gift from the heavens.

The Creator has given me an opportunity to take part in this special event where parts of my own soul come closer to me. If I relate to them in this way, with the understanding that I have been placed in an assembly of souls closest to me that are willing to unite with me, and if every individual as well as all of us together think this way, then it won’t be difficult at all.

Everything depends on preparation. During the ten days that are left before the Congress, I have to constantly prepare and attune myself to think, act, and feel precisely this way when I am there. It doesn’t matter when it will happen, today over here, or tomorrow over there. Time and place don’t mean anything. It’s an exercise for me to deliberately think today about what will happen tomorrow; this will help me later on, during the Congress, when all the conditions come together for attaining the required common effort.

This is very important and it determines everything. Later on it will get easier. It’s like preparing for war. If everything is ready and you are willing to do anything for spirituality, then you will see how everything will come together and happen exactly as you had hoped. If you made great efforts from the bottom of your heart, then everything will happen as you wish. There won’t be any unpleasant surprises. Everything will be good.

Imagine how a gang of thieves prepares in the darkness to go on a dangerous operation to rob a bank. Each of them feels that he depends on the rest, and thus he takes care of the rest. There’s a lot for us to learn from this example. The only difference is the goal. If the goal is egoistic and obvious, then it’s very easy and simple to unite. But if the goal is to attain bestowal, which lies above the individual egoistic desires of every person, then it is not easy at all.

Even the examples of our world demonstrate how useful unity can be. The only problem is that nothing can sustain unity besides the Upper Light. Unity can be sustained only by love.

A question I received: How come problems do not go away even when you understand the cause?

My Answer: This means that you lack the understanding, meaning, the attainment of the cause and the source. Where do these problems come from? They come from my egoism. Why do they come? They come because I am opposite to the Creator. What do I need to do? I need to demand help from the Surrounding Light so I will acquire the quality of bestowal and attain a connection with the Creator; these are my initial goals.

Basically, I need to go through several stages. The ten Sefirot of the Direct Light awaken the ten Sefirot of the Reflected Light within us, causing us to feel pain starting with the first Sefira (Malchut). After the first nine Sefirot, I feel the evil as a stab or a blow when the Light comes from Above and collides with Malchut. And then I must turn this evil into a proper reaction – the nine Sefirot of the Reflected Light.

In other words, I need to understand that this evil did not come from the Creator, but from my egoistic desire, which is opposite to Him. But why am I opposite to Him? Didn’t He create me this way? I need to understand why I was created this way and what I need to do. I have to rise above my egoism, unite with others, and attain the form of Bina. I rise from Malchut to Bina to acquire the quality of bestowal to the full extent, so that Malchut will be included in Bina and the quality of bestowal will influence and fulfill me.

I remain in it, but that’s not all. After that I’ll need to rise even higher – from Bina to Keter. I rise to Keter in order to attain reception for the sake of bestowal, until I unite with the Creator completely. This is the goal, and the reason why I am now receiving the first blow in Malchut, which I perceive as pain. It’s so that I will be able to attain Keter. The entire process must occur inside me inside Malchut of the Direct Light, or stated differently, inside Keter of the Reflected Light. It must take place within the creature’s initial reaction to the Creator. I need to examine all of this, comprehend it, and solve it, so that as a result, a prayer will emerge inside me where I ask, “Give me the strength to ask”! Because I don’t even have that yet.

A question I received: Why is the upcoming The Zohar Convention 2010 called “Zohar for the Nation?” It’s kind of a loud name, isn’t it?

My Answer:The Zohar is the greatest Light that comes to us from the system of Arich Anpin. It is the Light that corrects us. “For the Nation” means that we want to unite together. It is written, “I dwell inside my nation,” meaning, the Creator dwells inside those who unite into a single whole. The Creator is Light, Love, and Bestowal, and He is revealed inside this unification.

That is why the Congress is named accordingly. Like disconnected pieces, we are trying to draw closer and come together. The Light will change us and weld us together. Like glue, it will enter between us. Thus, the Light of The Zohar changes the nation and so the Congress is called “Zohar for the Nation.” There is nothing mystical about it.

The matter in question is the correction of man, of society, and of the world. I doubt anyone could put up an argument against this. Kabbalah only reveals the good and useful things for humankind.

A question I received:If you weighed the big Kabbalistic The Zohar Convention 2010 in February dedicated to The Book of Zohar, how many years of study does it substitute on the spiritual scale?

My Answer: I’ll be able to answer that after the Congress, when I can evaluate it. At this point, I don’t know. Everything depends on you, on how much everyone unites and the strength of our unity. The power of our desire to unite will define everyone’s desire to rise above their egoism. Our correction will depend on this. There are no limitations from Above. All the limitations come from us.

We mustn’t overly contemplate the stages of development we are on. We think that the better we understand and feel the material, the more we will advance, but this is incorrect.

Some people are sensitive, while others are rational and intelligent. And then there are those who are limited in both respects. This doesn’t matter because we don’t study with the mind. In addition, a sensitive person does not necessarily receive the right impressions for advancement.

Advancement is not at all dependent on how well we feel or understand the material. Success depends only on our efforts, as it is written: “I labored and I found.”

There is no way to test our advancement similar to how we do it with all the other things in our world. We cannot check whether or not we’ve felt the right feelings or completed certain actions successfully or otherwise. None of these criteria exist in spirituality. Forget about all the systems in this world. They mean nothing with respect to the spiritual.

In spirituality, only the effort counts. Are you truly applying yourself to the full extent? That’s what seals the deal. That is the key to success. There is nothing else.

Nothing else is taken into account. No matter how many good or bad states you may have experienced or how many blows you’ve endured – these things mean nothing. At every moment you must think only about your efforts – to what extent can you force yourself to connect with the Creator through the group? That is bestowal in the purest sense.